Created in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.

2a

DC Glow Discharge, 1D

This model is licensed under the COMSOL Software License Agreement 5.2a.
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. See www.comsol.com/trademarks.
Introduction
DC glow discharges in the low pressure regime have long been used for gas lasers and
fluorescent lamps. DC discharges are attractive to study because the solution is time
independent. This model shows how to use the Plasma interface to set up an analysis of a
positive column. The discharge is sustained by emission of secondary electrons at the
cathode.

Model Definition
The DC discharge consists of two electrodes, one powered (the anode) and one grounded
(the cathode):

Cathode Anode

Figure 1: Schematic of the DC discharge. The voltage applied across the electrodes leads to
formation of a plasma.

DOMAIN EQUATIONS
The electron density and mean electron energy are computed by solving a pair of
drift-diffusion equations for the electron density and mean electron energy. Convection of
electrons due to fluid motion is neglected. For detailed information on electron transport
see Theory for the Drift Diffusion Interface in the Plasma Module Users Guide.

n
( ) + [ n e ( e E ) D e n e ] = R e
t e

n
( ) + [ n ( E ) D n ] + E e = R
t

where:

e = ( e E )n e D e n e

The electron source Re and the energy loss due to inelastic collisions R are defined later.
The electron diffusivity, energy mobility and energy diffusivity are computed from the
electron mobility using:

2 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
 D e = e T e, = --- e, D = T e
5
3

The source coefficients in the above equations are determined by the plasma chemistry
using rate coefficients. Suppose that there are M reactions which contribute to the growth
or decay of electron density and P inelastic electron-neutral collisions. In general P >> M.
In the case of rate coefficients, the electron source term is given by:

Re = x j kj Nn ne
j=1

where xj is the mole fraction of the target species for reaction j, kj is the rate coefficient for
reaction j (m3/s), and Nn is the total neutral number density (1/m3). For DC discharges
it is better practice to use Townsend coefficients instead of rate coefficients to define
reaction rates. Townsend coefficients provide a better description of what happens in the
cathode fall region Ref 1. When Townsend coefficients are used, the electron source term
is given by:

Re = xj j Nn e
j=1

where j is the Townsend coefficient for reaction j (m2) and e is the electron flux as
defined above (1/(m2s)). Townsend coefficients can increase the stability of the
numerical scheme when the electron flux is field driven as is the case with DC discharges.
The electron energy loss is obtained by summing the collisional energy loss over all
reactions:

R = xj kj Nn ne j
j=1

where j is the energy loss from reaction j (V). The rate coefficients may be computed
from cross section data by the following integral:

kk = 0 k ( )f ( ) d
where = (2q/me)1/2 (C1/2/kg1/2), me is the electron mass (kg), is energy (V), k is
the collision cross section (m2) and f is the electron energy distribution function. In this

3 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
case a Maxwellian EEDF is assumed. When Townsend coefficients are used, the electron
energy loss is taken as:

R = xj j Nn e j
j=1

For non-electron species, the following equation is solved for the mass fraction of each
species. For detailed information on the transport of the non-electron species see Theory
for the Heavy Species Transport Interface in the Plasma Module Users Guide.

( w k ) + ( u )w k = j k + R k
t

The electrostatic field is computed using the following equation:

0 r V =

The space charge density is automatically computed based on the plasma chemistry
specified in the model using the formula:

N
= q Z k n k n e


k = 1

For detailed information about electrostatics see Theory for the Electrostatics Interface in
the Plasma Module Users Guide.

BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
Unlike RF discharges, the mechanism for sustaining the discharge is emission of secondary
electrons from the cathode. An electron is emitted from the cathode surface with a
specified probability when struck by an ion. These electrons are then accelerated by the
strong electric field close to the cathode where they acquire enough energy to initiate
ionization. The net result is a rapid increase in the electron density close to the cathode in
a region often known as the cathode fall or Crookes dark space.

Electrons are lost to the wall due to random motion within a few mean free paths of the
wall and gained due to secondary emission effects, resulting in the following boundary
condition for the electron flux:

n e = --- e, th n e
1
2 p ( p n ) (1)
p

4 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
and the electron energy flux:

n = --- e, th n
5
6 p p ( p n ) (2)
p

The second term on the right-hand side of Equation 1 is the gain of electrons due to
secondary emission effects, p being the secondary emission coefficient. The second term
in Equation 2 is the secondary emission energy flux, p being the mean energy of the
secondary electrons. For the heavy species, ions are lost to the wall due to surface reactions
and the fact that the electric field is directed towards the wall:

n j k = M w R k + M w c k Z k ( E n ) [ Z k k ( E n ) > 0 ]

PLASMA CHEMISTRY
Argon is one of the simplest mechanisms to implement at low pressures. The electronically
excited states can be lumped into a single species which results in a chemical mechanism
consisting of only 3 species and 7 reactions:
TABLE 1: TABLE OF COLLISIONS AND REACTIONS MODELED

REACTION FORMULA TYPE (eV)

1 e+Ar=>e+Ar Elastic 0
2 e+Ar=>e+Ars Excitation 11.5
3 e+Ars=>e+Ar Superelastic -11.5
4 e+Ar=>2e+Ar+ Ionization 15.8
5 e+Ars=>2e+Ar+ Ionization 4.24
6 Ars+Ars=>e+Ar+Ar+ Penning ionization -
7 Ars+Ar=>Ar+Ar Metastable quenching -

In this discharge, the electron density and density of excited species is relatively low so
stepwise ionization is not as important as in high density discharges. In addition to
volumetric reactions, the following surface reactions are implemented:
TABLE 2: TABLE OF SURFACE REACTIONS

REACTION FORMULA STICKING COEFFICIENT

1 Ars=>Ar 1
2 Ar+=>Ar 1

When a metastable argon atom makes contact with the wall, it reverts to the ground state
argon atom with some probability (the sticking coefficient).

5 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
Results and Discussion
The electric potential, electron density, and mean electron energy are all quantities of
interest. Most of the variation in each of these quantities occurs along the axial length of
the column. Figure 2 plots the electron density in the column. The electron density peaks
in the region between the cathode fall and positive column. This region is sometimes
referred to as Faraday dark space. The electron density obtained in this 1D model is
different than that obtained in the 2D model due to the fact that the diffusive loss of
electrons to the outer walls and the accumulation of surface charge on the walls is not
modeled.

Figure 2: Plot of electron density inside the column.

In Figure 3 the electric potential is plotted along the axial length of the column. Notice
that the potential profile is markedly different from the linear drop in potential which
results in the absence of the plasma. The strong electric field in the cathode region can lead
to high energy ion bombardment of the cathode. Heating of the cathode surface occurs
which may in turn lead to thermal electron emission where additional electrons are emitted
from the cathode surface.

6 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
Figure 3: Plot of the electron temperature along the axial length of the positive column.

Figure 4: Plot of electron temperature along the axial length of the positive column.

7 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
Figure 5: Plot of the mass fraction of excited argon atoms.

Figure 6: Plot of the number density of argon ions.

8 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
The plasma current due to electrons, ions and their sum is plotted in Figure 7. As
expected, the ion current is highest at the cathode and increases sharply in the cathode fall
region. The ion bombardment of the cathode results in an electron current released from
the electrode. The electron current increases sharply in the cathode fall region because the
high electron temperature results in production of new electrons which then contribute to
the total electron current. Once the electrons pass the cathode fall region the electron
current density further increases due to further production of new electrons through
electron impact ionization with the background gas.

Figure 7: Plot of the electron current density (blue), the ion current density (green) and the
total current density (red) in the positive column.

Reference
1. M.A. Lieberman and A.J. Lichtenberg, Principles of Plasma Discharges and Materials
Processing, John Wiley & Sons, 2005.

Application Library path: Plasma_Module/Direct_Current_Discharges/

positive_column_1d

9 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
Modeling Instructions
From the File menu, choose New.

NEW
In the New window, click Model Wizard.

MODEL WIZARD
1 In the Model Wizard window, click 1D.
2 In the Select Physics tree, select Plasma>Plasma (plas).
3 Click Add.
4 Click Study.
5 In the Select Study tree, select Preset Studies>Time Dependent.
6 Click Done.
7 In the Model Builder windows toolbar, click the Show button and select Discretization in
the menu.

GEOMETRY 1
The geometry interval is defined to be consistent with the 2D version of the model, which
is available in the Application Library.

Interval 1 (i1)
1 On the Geometry toolbar, click Interval.
2 In the Settings window for Interval, locate the Interval section.
3 In the Left endpoint text field, type 0.016.
4 In the Right endpoint text field, type 0.384.

DEFINITIONS

Variables 1
1 On the Home toolbar, click Variables and choose Local Variables.
2 In the Settings window for Variables, locate the Variables section.
3 In the table, enter the following settings:

Name Expression Unit Description

ramp tanh(1E7[1/s]*t) Ramp function for the
applied voltage
mueN 1E25[1/(m*V*s)] 1/(Vms) Electron mobility

10 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
Name Expression Unit Description
V0 100[V]*ramp V Applied voltage
Wf 5 Surface work function
p0 0.1[torr] Pa Gas pressure

PLASMA (PLAS)

Cross Section Import 1

1 On the Physics toolbar, click Global and choose Cross Section Import.
2 In the Settings window for Cross Section Import, locate the Cross Section Import section.
3 Click Browse.
4 Browse to the applications Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
Ar_xsecs.txt.

5 In the Model Builder window, click Plasma (plas).

6 In the Settings window for Plasma, locate the Plasma Properties section.
7 Select the Use reduced electron transport properties check box.
Because you will examine the electron, ion, and net currents flowing in the plasma, raise
the element order to 2. The current density is computed from space derivatives of the
charge carrying degrees of freedom, so using 2nd order shape functions gives a more
accurate value for the current density.
8 Click to expand the Discretization section. From the Formulation list, choose Finite
element, log formulation (quadratic shape function).

Plasma Model 1
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Plasma (plas) click Plasma
Model 1.
2 In the Settings window for Plasma Model, locate the Model Inputs section.
3 In the pA text field, type p0.
4 Locate the Electron Density and Energy section. In the eNn text field, type mueN.
Now change the way the source coefficients for electronic excitation and ionization are
specified. By default, COMSOL Multiphysics computes rate coefficients based on the
cross section data you supplied. For DC discharges, Townsend coefficients provide a
more accurate description of the cathode fall region so they should be used. The
Townsend coefficients are typically computed using the Boltzmann Equation, Two-Term
Approximation interface.

11 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
2: e+Ar=>e+Ars
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Plasma (plas) click 2: e+Ar=>
e+Ars.
2 In the Settings window for Electron Impact Reaction, locate the Collision section.
3 From the Specify reaction using list, choose Use lookup table.
4 Locate the Reaction Parameters section. From the Rate constant form list, choose
Townsend coefficient.
5 Click Load from File.
6 Browse to the applications Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
town2.txt.

4: e+Ar=>2e+Ar+
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Plasma (plas) click 4: e+Ar=>
2e+Ar+.
2 In the Settings window for Electron Impact Reaction, locate the Collision section.
3 From the Specify reaction using list, choose Use lookup table.
4 Locate the Reaction Parameters section. From the Rate constant form list, choose
Townsend coefficient.
5 Click Load from File.
6 Browse to the applications Application Libraries folder and double-click the file
town4.txt.

Reaction 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Reaction.
2 In the Settings window for Reaction, locate the Reaction Formula section.
3 In the Formula text field, type Ars+Ars=>e+Ar+Ar+.
4 Locate the Reaction Parameters section. In the kf text field, type 3.734E8.

Reaction 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Domains and choose Reaction.
2 In the Settings window for Reaction, locate the Reaction Formula section.
3 In the Formula text field, type Ars+Ar=>Ar+Ar.
4 Locate the Reaction Parameters section. In the kf text field, type 1807.

Species: Ar
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Plasma (plas) click Species: Ar.

12 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
2 In the Settings window for Species, locate the Species Formula section.
3 Select the From mass constraint check box.
4 Locate the General Parameters section. From the Preset species data list, choose Ar.
When solving a reacting flow problem there always needs to be one species which is
selected to fullfill the mass constraint. This should be taken as the species with the
largest mass fraction.

Species: Ars
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Plasma (plas) click Species:
Ars.
2 In the Settings window for Species, locate the General Parameters section.
3 From the Preset species data list, choose Ar.
When solving a plasma problem the plasma must be initially charge neutral. COMSOL
automatically computes the initial concentration of a selected ionic species such that the
electroneutrality constraint is satisfied.

Species: Ar+
1 In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Plasma (plas) click Species:
Ar+.
2 In the Settings window for Species, locate the Species Formula section.
3 Select the Initial value from electroneutrality constraint check box.
4 Locate the General Parameters section. From the Preset species data list, choose Ar.
Now add a surface reaction which describes the neutralization of argon ions on the
electrode. Secondary emission of electrons is required to sustain the discharge, so enter
the emission coefficient and an estimate of the mean energy of the secondary electrons
based on the ionization energy threshold and the work function of the surface.

Surface Reaction 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Surface Reaction.
2 In the Settings window for Surface Reaction, locate the Reaction Formula section.
3 In the Formula text field, type Ar+=>Ar.
4 Select Boundary 1 only.
Make the secondary emission coefficient 0.35 and set the mean energy of the secondary
electrons to be the ionization energy (given by the expression plas.de_4) minus twice
the work function of the electrode.
5 Locate the Secondary Emission Parameters section. In the i text field, type 0.35.

13 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
6 In the i text field, type plas.de_4-2*Wf.

Surface Reaction 2
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Surface Reaction.
2 In the Settings window for Surface Reaction, locate the Reaction Formula section.
3 In the Formula text field, type Ar+=>Ar.
4 Select Boundary 2 only.

Surface Reaction 3
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Surface Reaction.
2 In the Settings window for Surface Reaction, locate the Reaction Formula section.
3 In the Formula text field, type Ars=>Ar.
4 Select Boundaries 1 and 2 only.

Wall 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Wall.
2 Select Boundaries 1 and 2 only.

Ground 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Ground.
2 Select Boundary 1 only.

Metal Contact 1
1 On the Physics toolbar, click Boundaries and choose Metal Contact.
2 Select Boundary 2 only.
3 In the Settings window for Metal Contact, locate the Terminal section.
4 In the V0 text field, type V0.

MESH 1
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1) right-click Mesh 1 and choose
Edge.

Edge 1
In the Model Builder window, under Component 1 (comp1)>Mesh 1 right-click Edge 1 and
choose Distribution.

Distribution 1
1 In the Settings window for Distribution, locate the Distribution section.
2 From the Distribution properties list, choose Predefined distribution type.

14 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
3 In the Number of elements text field, type 350.
4 In the Element ratio text field, type 8.
5 From the Distribution method list, choose Geometric sequence.
6 Select the Symmetric distribution check box.
7 Click Build All.

STUDY 1

Step 1: Time Dependent

1 In the Settings window for Time Dependent, locate the Study Settings section.
2 In the Times text field, type 0.
3 Click Range.
4 In the Range dialog box, choose Number of values from the Entry method list.
5 In the Start text field, type -8.
6 In the Stop text field, type 0.
7 In the Number of values text field, type 101.
8 From the Function to apply to all values list, choose exp10.
9 Click Add.
10 On the Home toolbar, click Compute.

RESULTS

Electron Density (plas)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click Electron Density (plas).
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Time selection list, choose Last.
4 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
5 In the associated text field, type Distance (m).
6 Select the y-axis label check box.
7 In the associated text field, type Electron density (1/m³).
8 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar.

Electron Temperature (plas)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click Electron Temperature (plas).
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.

15 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
3 From the Time selection list, choose Last.
4 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
5 In the associated text field, type Distance (m).
6 Select the y-axis label check box.
7 In the associated text field, type Electron temperature (eV).
8 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar.

Electric Potential (plas)

1 In the Model Builder window, under Results click Electric Potential (plas).
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, locate the Data section.
3 From the Time selection list, choose Last.
4 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
5 In the associated text field, type Distance (m).
6 Select the y-axis label check box.
7 In the associated text field, type Potential (V).
8 Click the Zoom Extents button on the Graphics toolbar.

1D Plot Group 4
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Excited Argon Mass Fraction in
the Label text field.
3 Locate the Data section. From the Time selection list, choose Last.
4 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
5 In the associated text field, type Distance (m).
6 Select the y-axis label check box.
7 In the associated text field, type Mass fraction of excited Argon (1).

Line Graph 1
1 On the Excited Argon Mass Fraction toolbar, click Line Graph.
2 Select Domain 1 only.
3 In the Settings window for Line Graph, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner
of the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Component 1>Plasma (Heavy Species
Transport)>Mass fractions>plas.wArs - Mass fraction.
4 On the Excited Argon Mass Fraction toolbar, click Plot.

16 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
1D Plot Group 5
1 On the Home toolbar, click Add Plot Group and choose 1D Plot Group.
2 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Argon Ion Number Density in the
Label text field.
3 Locate the Data section. From the Time selection list, choose Last.
4 Locate the Plot Settings section. Select the x-axis label check box.
5 In the associated text field, type Distance (m).
6 Select the y-axis label check box.
7 In the associated text field, type Argon ion number density (1/m³).

Line Graph 1
1 On the Argon Ion Number Density toolbar, click Line Graph.
2 Select Domain 1 only.
3 In the Settings window for Line Graph, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner
of the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Component 1>Plasma (Heavy Species
Transport)>Number densities>plas.n_wAr_1p - Number density.
4 On the Argon Ion Number Density toolbar, click Plot.

Argon Ion Number Density

In the Model Builder window, under Results right-click Argon Ion Number Density and
choose Duplicate.

Argon Ion Number Density 1

1 In the Settings window for 1D Plot Group, type Current Density in the Label text
field.
2 Click to expand the Title section. From the Title type list, choose None.
3 Locate the Plot Settings section. In the y-axis label text field, type Current density
(A/m²).

4 Click to expand the Legend section. From the Position list, choose Upper left.

Line Graph 1
1 In the Model Builder window, expand the Results>Current Density node, then click Line
Graph 1.
2 In the Settings window for Line Graph, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner
of the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Component 1>Plasma (Drift Diffusion)>
Current>Electron current density>plas.Jelx - Electron current density, x component.
3 Click to expand the Quality section. From the Resolution list, choose No refinement.

17 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D
4 From the Recover list, choose Within domains.
5 Click to expand the Legends section. Select the Show legends check box.
6 From the Legends list, choose Manual.
7 On the Current Density toolbar, click Plot.
8 In the table, enter the following settings:

Legends
Electron current density

Line Graph 2
1 Right-click Results>Current Density>Line Graph 1 and choose Duplicate.
2 In the Settings window for Line Graph, click Replace Expression in the upper-right corner
of the y-axis data section. From the menu, choose Component 1>Plasma (Heavy Species
Transport)>Species>Species wAr_1p>Ion current density>plas.Jix_wAr_1p - Ion current
density, x component.
3 On the Current Density toolbar, click Plot.
4 Locate the Legends section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Legends
Ion current density

Line Graph 1
Right-click Line Graph 1 and choose Duplicate.

Line Graph 3
1 In the Settings window for Line Graph, locate the y-Axis Data section.
2 In the Expression text field, type plas.Jix_wAr_1p+plas.Jelx.
3 Locate the Legends section. In the table, enter the following settings:

Legends
Total current density

4 On the Current Density toolbar, click Plot.

18 | DC GLOW DISCHARGE, 1D